


Still Call It Home

by GotTheSilver



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-16
Updated: 2013-02-16
Packaged: 2017-11-29 13:16:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/687378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GotTheSilver/pseuds/GotTheSilver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for <a href="http://trope-bingo.dreamwidth.org/">Trope Bingo</a>.</p><p>In which Tony Stark is totally not spying on his new neighbour.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still Call It Home

**Author's Note:**

> Trope: AU Neighbours.
> 
> Title from Pure Love - Bury My Bones.

It’s not like Tony was in the habit of spying on his neighbours. Despite his whole high tech, constantly fiddling with some kind of electronic equipment persona, he never used any of it to spy on the people around him. That would be crossing a line, or so Pepper told him, he was never quite sure where the lines were in regular human relationships. But, the point remained, he was not going to spy on his neighbours. Despite how well the new boy wore a pair of Levi’s. Tony was not - absolutely, positively was not - going to spy on the new boy.

-

So maybe he caught a glimpse of the new boy outside. Once or twice. Or ten times. Maybe. He’d just so happened to notice that his workshop was kind of in need of a redesign and if that happened to mean his desk was nearer the window overlooking the courtyard, well that was just coincidence. Pure, pure coincidence.

Pepper stopped by one day and glared at him in what seemed like a significant way. She couldn’t know, the new boy wasn’t anywhere near the window when she came round and she - okay, she might know who moved in along the street, but surely those facts didn’t come with full length photos, right? Then again, complete dossiers probably included photos. Oops. Tony knew he’d pay for Pepper’s thoroughness at some point. Why did things he paid for always come back and bite him in the ass? And he wasn’t just talking about that escort he hired in Atlanta that one time. That, he’d expected. Encouraged, even.

Really, Pepper should be pleased. She was always telling him he should get more sunlight. Sitting by the window had to help with that. It might help more if he opened the window, but Pepper should know better than to quibble. “Baby steps, Pep, baby steps,” he’d said to her with a grin.

-

It took a week for Tony to learn the new boy’s name. He was actually disappointed in himself, surely he could do better than that and he would, in the future. Absolutely. The easiest option would’ve been to ask Pepper, but then she’d get that look on her face - that one that said she didn’t know whether to pity him or warn the new boy. Anyway - new boy - _Steve Rogers_. Whatever Pepper said, Tony was absolutely not drawing hearts on bits of paper. Tony doesn’t use paper if he can help it, so it’s a completely false allegation and Pepper would do well to remember that.

There might be a folder tucked away on his personal server with some calculations that are Tony’s attempts at how him approaching Steve would work out but he’s never going to talk about that.

Steve is terrifyingly polite. Even the creepy salespeople that Pepper forbids him from sending a spider robot (her words, not his, it’s far more than a robot) after, Steve is nice to. Tony has never witnessed Steve buying anything from them, but they’re never as rude to him as they are to Tony. Apparently Steve just compels people to be nice to him. Tony suspects magic.

-

Each day Tony swears he’s going to go over with some kind of housewarming gift for Steve. The only problem being that he can’t really decide on what to get him. He’s all in favour of baked goods. When he remembers to eat, Tony is a very big fan of things that other people have created from flour and sugar. A lot of sugar. Baked goods are the perfect compliment to coffee. Not so much the wheatgrass and kale mixes he drinks, but the coffee, yes. Tony just isn’t sure where the kitchen in his house is, or what he would do in it if he found it.

Plus, there’s the fact that it’s getting a little late to present Steve with a housewarming gift. He’s been living on the street almost a month and it’s now perilously close to the point where Tony would just look like a creepy stranger offering presents. Which he kind of is - a lot of the time - but he has a feeling that creeping Steve out would be bad and something he very much does not want to do.

He thinks about creating something for Steve, but Pepper comes over one day, sees his plans and tells him that anyone who doesn’t know Tony would probably take it the wrong way. Tony telling her that he’d be doing it in order to get to know Steve just gets him one of those looks.

Tony’s fairly sure that Pepper runs the entire world when she’s not with him.

He gives up on the gift.

-

Then one day Steve wears a tank top. And he gets wet while washing his car. Tony looks at Dummy and back out the window where Steve is still wet. And soapy. It’s obscene in some kind of 80s hair metal video way and Tony just wants to plant his face in Steve’s chest and not move. He’s fully aware that this is a worrying development. He _knows_ , okay?

-

Steve has been living next door for two months and Tony still hasn’t said one word to him. Tony’s left the house - he thinks - Pepper made him attend a board meeting, and there was the thing with the guy in Japan who wanted - whatever. He’s gone out. He just hasn’t gone anywhere near Steve’s house. Pepper says he’s two steps away from being a stalker, but she’s got that totally wrong - Tony knows stalkers, he’s had at least six, wait, seven. Six? Do stalkers count as stalkers if you sleep with them? In Tony’s defence, she’d been on the cover of Maxim and GQ, and he had a reputation to uphold.

Anyway, Tony isn’t a stalker. He doesn’t have any photos of Steve hanging up in a darkened room and it’s not like he spends his time following Steve around town. Tony is just - aware. Of when Steve’s home.

Pepper isn’t reassured when Tony says if he was really a stalker, he’d break into Steve’s house and roll around in his bed. He wasn’t planning on doing it.

-

Steve gets a visitor. Steve never has visitors. Tony was actually worried about him for a while, because at least Tony gets visited by Pepper. And Rhodey, when he’s not working. But apparently Steve does have friends. Good looking, male friends. Who make Steve smile, and make Steve laugh and - nope.

The bad mood Tony is in for a week has nothing to do with Steve’s visitor and everything to do with the papers Pepper keeps making him sign.

-

Three months in to what Pepper calls The Steve Situation and Tony is made to put on a tux and whisked off to a benefit for the Maria Stark Foundation. He has absolutely no idea what it is and Pepper won’t tell him no matter how much he asks, so he just settles back in the limo and - he’s not pouting, whatever Pepper says.

They pull up outside The Guggenheim and Tony lets himself be guided through the photographers to the room where the event is being held. Apparently the foundation has been supporting artists. There are frighteningly young people everywhere, mixing with the older, wealthier patrons of the foundation. Tony doesn’t want to think about where he fits into all this. Surely he’s not like that one in the corner, reddened face from too much whiskey, desperately trying to hold a conversation with a purple haired twenty something.

Oh God, he’s old.

Tony turns to Pepper and tells her that he’s old She ignores him and drags him around to meet various people. She’s up to something - Tony has a sense about these things - and she won’t tell him what. He doesn’t like it.

He gladhands his way through so many people he loses count. Tony isn’t great at this. People think he is, but he’s really not. He was just taught how to fake it at an early age.

Pepper pinches him when he yawns. It’s a good system they have.

Tony has to wait forever to actually look at the artwork he’s paid people to create. Most of it he doesn’t get, but there’s one a third of the way down the wall that - the last time he was so still he was unconscious. It’s - Tony’s not great with art descriptions, mostly he just pays money for things he likes - but this makes him want to be good at art descriptions because it deserves it.

It’s muted colours, delicate lines and so much emotion. It’s not quite abstract, but Tony can’t work out what it is in any meaningful way. He wants to know everything about it - about who created it.

“Who?” Tony asks Pepper.

“I’ll get him,” says Pepper.

Tony hears the clack of her heels as she walks off, murmured voices in the background as he continues to stare at the painting.

-

“Miss. Potts said you wanted to meet me?”

Tony turns at the sound of the voice and he’s sure his eyes are bulging out of his head because it’s him - Steve - standing in front of him. And. What?

“Mr. Stark?”

“Yes - hi - you’re the artist?”

“Steve Rogers,” Steve offers his hand and Tony takes it. “You like my work?”

“I love your work.”

“Oh,” Steve’s skin flushes.

Tony grins, he’s never seen that before, never seen Steve flush before. He’s seen a lot of Steve through the window, but never that. “This is going to sound - well, strange - but I’m your neighbour.”

“Um, okay? I mean, I know that.”

“You - what?”

“Miss. Potts, she said the house was part of what the foundation does. I thought she would’ve told you I was living there.”

Tony’s very, very sure he will be having words with Pepper. “I’m not really involved with the day to day running. Mostly they use my money for whatever they want and drag me out whenever they need my face for something.”

Steve laughs, a quiet laugh that seems out of place here. Tony associates events like these with alcohol, misery and fake smiles. He’s not used to enjoying something at these events - unless there are twins. Twins make everything better.

“So, did you have questions for me? Miss. Potts didn’t tell me exactly what you wanted.”

“I - you’re older than the people we usually sponsor. And your hair is not a terrifying colour - assuming you’re a natural blond of course. What were you doing before this?”

“I was a soldier. Got injured. Got discharged.”

“Oh,” Tony observes the taut jaw and does something he very rarely does. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For bringing it up.”

“Mr. Stark, I’m fine,” Steve sticks his hands in his pockets and shrugs. “Would I still like to be there? Yes, I would. But my I’ve still got my leg, still got my life. A lot of people don’t.”

“Call me Tony, please.”

Steve nods. They keep talking, Tony finds himself even more entranced by Steve - now he knows him as more than just a really, really hot body. Neither of them notice how much time has passed until Pepper comes in. She raises an eyebrow at Tony and taps her wrist. He’s never spent this long at a benefit since he became old enough to make his own decisions, since he discovered alcohol and casual sex.

“Want a lift?” he asks Steve. “We’re going to the same place.”

“Sure, if it’s not a bother.”

“No bother,” Tony slaps a hand on Steve’s back. “Pep, you coming with?”

“I called another car. Get home safe. Be good,” Pepper kisses Tony’s cheek and nods when Steve waves at her.

“I’m always good,” Tony calls after her.

-

Tony doesn’t feel awkward often, he blasts through life and tries not to think about the impression he gives off to other people. Standing in the courtyard with Steve watching the limo drive off - he suddenly realises that this is what awkward feels like. He doesn’t like it.

He coughs and Steve looks at him. Tony grimaces, “At the risk of making you want to run away and never come back - would you like to go on a date? With me?”

Steve smiles and nods, that flush appearing again. “Yeah. I would.”

Tony thinks he agrees to tell Steve when and where this date will happen, but he’s so distracted by Steve’s general presence, he’s not actually sure about that. The kiss Steve places on his cheek doesn’t help matters, Tony’s just glad he doesn't touch his cheek like a swooning Princess.

-

10 months after Tony saw Steve for the first time, 7 months after the foundation event, 6 months and 3 weeks after their first date, Steve moves again. This time he doesn’t move far.

Tony turns the other half of the first floor into a studio for Steve. His workshop stays where it is and they share the space.

Sometimes he opens the windows.


End file.
